POETRY, PROSE AND LITERATURE
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REFLECTIONS ON BEAUTY
BEAUTY IN LOVE
TOUCH - The touch of the lips, the caress of the body, the clutching of hands, the embrace.
SIGHT - The happy smile with contact eye to eye, that shapely form, that prettiest face.
HEARING - The sweetness of voice, and the softness of breathing as two lovers lay together.
EMOTION - To love to be together, to hate to be apart, to fear to lose her, to be happy in her joy.
THOUGHT - To think of her body, to think of her smile, and to think of her voice. To think of her touch. Just - to think of her.
THE BEAUTY OF A THOUGHT
My mother died in 2002. A month or two after this, my father was going through some of the drawers in the bedroom, when buried underneath some of her clothing, he found an envelope. It contained a short letter from my mother in which there were some requests, and a little mention of my relationship with her. She wrote something of that relationship which she had never said in life. She wrote:
'he has sacrificed so much for me - ever since his university days he has been my main support
in keeping me sane and has brought me back from depths of despair on so many occasions'
The rest of the letter will not be disclosed. I mention this now because family issues later undermined my confidence and hurt and frustrated me. The beauty for me in this letter is in the sentiment. I read this letter frequently because it reaffirms for me the value I had in the life of the person who loved me most and needed me most. It makes me feel that whatever the future holds, I have achieved at least one thing worthwhile. In my life I have awards and certificates, I have mementos of special people and souvenirs of special occasions. But nothing is more treasured or more beautiful to me than this letter - it signifies the proudest experience of my life.
I'd Love to Hear Your Comments. Thanks, Alun
BEAUTY IS ... LIFE ON EARTH
Beauty is...
The bright colour of flowers.
The fragility of a small butterfly.
The grace of a slender crane.
The agility of a leaping gazelle.
The muscular power of a tiger.
The majesty of a great oak tree.
Beauty is:
'A combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses.'
'A combination of qualities that pleases the intellect or moral sense.'
Two Oxford Dictionary Definitions.
Beauty embraces so much of what we love in life. Many elements of beauty including visible beauty, are clear and easy to understand - a beautiful girl, a beautiful flower, a beautiful landscape. But this is beauty in its most obvious and basic form - the first definition above. This is the sense of aesthetic beauty.
Other forms of beauty are much less obvious - the perfection of form in nature, the harmonies of music, beauty of soul, exquisitely perfect replication of life in reproduction, and the coming together of seemingly disparate parts to make a united and perfect whole. Design which is beautiful in its simplicity, and design which is beautiful in its intricacy. This is the second definition above. This is the sense of intellectual or moral beauty.
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but there are elements of our world which should be beautiful to all. This page carries a handful of my reflections on the many interpretations of beauty, as defined above.
THE BEAUTY OF NATURE
When asked to name the most special atmosphere, the most exquisite of experiences, the most satisfying sensory stimulation, my answer may be surprising. It is not some exotic cultural event or festive occasion, nor even a romantic encounter.
Heaven on Earth for me is walking in the English countryside. Walking on green rolling hills, walking through meadows of wild flowers. On a Sunday in summer, under a warm clear blue sky, a gentle breeze blowing.
All senses engage here. The flowers nodding in the breeze, a refreshing coolness on the face, and the sound of bumble bees busily going about their business gathering nectar flower to flower. The distant chiming of church bells in a village steeple calling the faithful to prayer, and the delicate butterflies flitting among the blooms. And high high above - a tiny speck in the clear blue sky as a skylark lustily sings its heart out for all to hear. A guide to identify the flowers, the insects, the birds, and a camera to pursue my hobby, will complete all that I need. This carefree tranquillity is far removed from the stress of city life. Walking here, in nature, all senses enriched and all senses contented. All beautiful.
BEAUTY IS ... A HUMAN FACE
Beauty is...
In the face of a baby.
In the happy laugh of a child.
In the adoration of a lover's eyes
In the worried frown of a caring parent.
In the wrinkled joy of a grandparent.
In the contented smile of a life fulfilled.
BEAUTY IN CREATIVITY
Beauty is to be seen ...
In the genius of artists and sculptors, writers, composers, dancers and designers.
In the smallest of ornamental figurines ... and in the greatest of monumental architecture.
In the joy of children's' games ... and in the grace of a ballerina's dance.
In the wit of a few well chosen words ... and in the masterpiece of a great and epic play.
In the complexity of spoken language ... and in the harmony of musical composition.
In the simplicity of designs which work ... and in the aesthetics of designs which please.
In the countless billions of electrical and chemical reactions in the human brain, seemingly all so chaotically random, and yet together they give us creativity ...
... and in the unfathomability of the human soul which transforms that creativity into things of beauty.
THE BEAUTY OF EARTH - ALMOST NOTHING, YET EVERYTHING
A tiny tiny speck.
A dot, a tiny jewel of blue and green and white.
Tiny and vulnerable and fragile in the black which reaches out forever.
This is the tiny beauty of something which is almost nothing in the infinity of space.
A great great globe.
A great sphere of life of every shape and form.
Great and self-sustaining and holding firmly at bay the blackness of eternal space.
This is the great beauty of something which is everything to the life which lives on it.
BEAUTY IS ... THE LIQUID OF LIFE
Beauty is...
Water droplets splashing as melting snow heralds a new spring season, and rain-drops refreshing the land and nurturing the regrowth of life.
The tranquil sound of gentle bubbling streams and the calming serenity of placid pools and lakes of limpid water - the sustenance of all life on land.
The oceans - the birthplace of life on Earth - and the lapping of the oceanic tide along the shoreline, the place where it all began with life's emergence on to land.
The miracle of water, a molecule so beautiful in its simplicity of design and yet so beautiful in the complexity of the life it permits to exist.
BEAUTY IS ... SCIENCE
Beauty is...
In the constant balance of matter and energy, in the microscopic harmony of the atom, and in the continuous recombination of ions to create all the molecules of substance.
In the perfection of DNA, the unique molecule of replication, in the coming together of sperm and egg, and in the spontaneous creation of miraculous miniatures of life.
In the intricate recycling of all matter on Earth through the hydrosphere and the biosphere, and in the never ending exchange of life giving molecules across the planet.
In the magnificence of the workings of the Universe, stellar death and stellar birth, and in the regeneration of new worlds in the demise of old.
